4: Adult safeguarding champion

Chapter 4: 
Adult safeguarding champion (Designated Safeguarding Person/s)

Aim of the chapter

1. To describe the role of the Adult Safeguarding Champion or appointed Designated Safeguarding Person/s

Each congregation must nominate at least one person with responsibility for dealing with adult safeguarding concerns, disclosures or allegations about actual or suspected abuse. 

This is the Adult Safeguarding Champion (ASC). 

ASC is a regional definition found in guidance. We do not tend to use this definition in our church communities; instead, we have Designated Safeguarding Person/s. However, the role is the same.

Organisations will appoint an ASC where they have staff or volunteers subject to any level of vetting, that is, regulated activity that is ‘relevant work or activities’ as defined by Schedule 1 National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016

This therefore includes our individual congregations. 

Key points

• Designated Persons are volunteers, and the role is increasingly complex. It is mandatory for Kirk Session to fully support this individual.
• As with the Designated Person role, the full responsibility for safeguarding in the local congregation remains with Kirk Session.
• In bigger churches a team approach is being taken with a small team managing all safeguarding, children and adults. This might include separate roles for Designated Liaison Persons (child safeguarding) and ASCs (adult safeguarding), or combined roles. All involved must be recruited and vetted as appropriate.
• In smaller churches this can become a pressure point. It is appropriate for local congregations to team up and appoint one ASC for several churches. This must be done via Kirk Sessions and the individual must be recruited and vetted as appropriate.
• Safeguarding training will be enhanced for Designated Persons to include ASC; the one training programme will be suitable for both roles.

The role of the Designated Safeguarding Person (for adults, ASC) 

(See also the role of the Designated Liaison Person as described for children, if roles are being combined: Add link here)

The ASC provides oversight in relation to adult safeguarding for the church and is responsible for implementing the church’s Adult Safeguarding Policy Statement.

The ASC must ensure that, at a minimum, the church safeguards adults at risk by:

• Recognising that adult harm is wrong and must not be tolerated
• Being aware of the signs of harm from abuse, exploitation and neglect
• Reducing opportunities for harm, abuse, exploitation and neglect to occur
• Knowing how and when to report adult safeguarding concerns to HSE and/or Garda 

What are the key responsibilities of an ASC?

• To provide information, support and advice for leaders on adult safeguarding to the church
• To oversee the adult safeguarding training needs in the church
• To support leaders to ensure that any actions take account of what the adult wishes to achieve (this must not prevent information about any risk of serious harm being passed to the HSE for assessment and decision-making)
• To establish contact with the HSE, Garda and other agencies as appropriate
• To ensure that accurate and up to date records are maintained detailing all decisions made, the reasons for those decisions and any actions taken
• To compile and analyse records of reported concerns to determine whether a number of low-level concerns are accumulating to become more significant
• To be accountable to Kirk Session regarding any issues in the local church

CHAPTER END